I’ve never been on a hunting lease, nor have I ever hunted deer. Have hunted duck, geese, and quail but it has been a long time. I’m thinking about trying to get on a lease in 2017, but I have some general questions about my situation. For starters, I don’t care one iota about shooting a big buck but wouldn’t mind shooting a doe or a spike once a year to have some meat for the freezer. The rest of the year, I’d mainly just go to get away and enjoy being in the woods. Maybe hunt some birds occasionally, or help thin out hogs, coyotes, etc.
If I’m not looking for a big buck, shouldn’t I be able to save some money on a lease? How do most people feel about guys that like to get away and maybe camp out instead of being a hardcore hunter?
Any thoughts, insights appreciated.
http://www.lowcountrypregnancycenter.com/
Well, you will have to do some searching and networking to find that kind of place. You also could just hunt the WMA if that is all you are looking for. There are plenty of places in the Francis Marion National Forrest that it is pretty easy to just kill a deer. I have no idea where you are located, so that changes things a bit. How far are you willing to drive ect,ect?
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Right now I am overseas. We will likely come back to the states in spring or summer of 2017. I want to move to either John’s Island, Beaufort, Fernandina Beach, or St. Augustine, but there are lots of factors to consider. But we will almost certainly be in GA, SC, or FL. Don’t mind driving 3-4 hours to get to a lease. It is for a getaway after all.
http://www.lowcountrypregnancycenter.com/
Skeeter hit it on the head with WMA. There’s no reason to pay the $$ for a lease if all you want to do is kill one or two does or baby bucks. You can do that with the WMA license. And its cheap.
Most leases that I know of have penalties for killing immature bucks as most hunters are after mature white tails.
http://www.dnr.sc.gov/wma/maps.html
May all your favorite bands stay together…
OK, then that sounds good. Thanks for the information. Guess I just need to pick a WMA.
http://www.lowcountrypregnancycenter.com/
$35 dollars to hunt over 250,000 acres all over the state ain’t a bad deal.
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This concerns me. The man states plainly in the first sentence he hasn’t hunted deer ever, but wants to. And folks suggest he just go ahead and pick a WMA and have at it? Yeah, that sounds safe and super fun when your green behind the ears. SURFFISHLIFE, my suggestion to you, find out where your going to end up. Once you do, whether it be GA, SC or FL, you need to find a decent club to hunt on and/or a mentor to teach you what to do, safely. Shoot me a pm if you have any specific questions. I’ve taken friends who had never stepped foot in the woods before and helped them learn the ropes while being safe. A high powered rifle in uneducated hands is an accident waiting to happen, and there are a bunch walking around in the FMNF daily because no one showed them the proper way to hunt.
quote:
Originally posted by salty849
This concerns me. The man states plainly in the first sentence he hasn’t hunted deer ever, but wants to. And folks suggest he just go ahead and pick a WMA and have at it? Yeah, that sounds safe and super fun when your green behind the ears. SURFFISHLIFE, my suggestion to you, find out where your going to end up. Once you do, whether it be GA, SC or FL, you need to find a decent club to hunt on and/or a mentor to teach you what to do, safely. Shoot me a pm if you have any specific questions. I’ve taken friends who had never stepped foot in the woods before and helped them learn the ropes while being safe. A high powered rifle in uneducated hands is an accident waiting to happen, and there are a bunch walking around in the FMNF daily because no one showed them the proper way to hunt.
You’re assuming he doesn’t know how to use a rifle. I was assuming that he did. He’s obviously starting to do research now to find out what/why/how to deer hunt…and he’s a year and a half away from hunting. To me, that shows that he has intellect and is trying to learn in advance of jumping in with both feet. It doesn’t bother me at all to point him in the direction of WMA. Its an easy place for beginners to learn without spending tons of money.
I agree with you about safety with firearms, but that argument needs to be pointed to the yahoos running through the government woods with no respect, not someone who is researching a year ahead…
May all your favorite bands stay together…
I have owned and fired shotguns, pistols, and rifles. Single shot, bolt action, semi-auto, lever action, etc. I just never went deer hunting. Have shot tons of ducks, a few geese, quite a few quail and doves, rabbits, etc. I know how to use a gun safely; that being said I would still probably take a hunter safety course just because you can never be too safe with a weapon and I am rusty. I had it drilled into my DNA as a child that you never point a gun at anything you don’t intend to kill, and you never squeeze the trigger unless you are 100% certain of what you are shooting.
I appreciate everyone’s advice. I do think I would enjoy the camaraderie of a lease, but only if the other guys wanted me there. I can see where a lot of guys would prefer to have a “real” hunter out to shoot big bucks. It would be nice to be able to draw on the experience of guys that have hunted deer for decades. I’d certainly spend some time at the range getting used to whatever rifle I decided to use. If I had a decent shot at a deer, I’m pretty sure I could hit it clean. Might even take up bow hunting if I’m just going to harvest a doe. But I don’t know squat about field dressing a deer, or how fast I need to get it to a processor. Those kinds of things I’d like some help with. There’s always YouTube, but I’d rather have someone show me.
http://www.lowcountrypregnancycenter.com/
Although I have taken plenty of deer and other game hunting for me is more about time in the woods and the commraderie. Leases can be great but keep in mind there are dog drive clubs and still hunt clubs. Dog driving can be great fun but as a still hunter it makes it hard to be in a peaceful hunting situation. If they hunt it hard you will have to deal with nocturnal deer. Also some of the clubs just want your money and don’t care one iota about the type of hunting you do. I have been way more successful scouting and hunting public land and saving that 1000.00 each year for new gear. I second the notion of finding a buddy or two and sharing Intel and time in the woods. My years in a club were great but I prefer public and private land solo or hunting with a buddy. Good luck.
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